tarot of the old path- five of swords
The Thoth Tarot 5 of Swords is called Defeat while the Tarot of the Old Path illustrates a Swiss soldier from the canton of Uri. In medieval history the Swiss where often soldiers for hire and /or mercenaries. Also, the Artist of the Tarot of the Old Path is paying tribute to the publishers of the Tarot of the Old Path, AG Muller $ Cie of Switzerland.
The standard bearer, wearing a bull like helmet, is blowing a horn in triumph while the soldier in the foreground is brandishing two blood-stained swords and yelling in battle frenzy.
Here the battlefield is littered with swords
The yellow battle standard is whipping in the Wind, representing the element of Air that rules this card and the partially shown face of a red bull with a ring in its nose is illustrated on the standard.
This is a severe battle and victory may be short lived. So, the Primary meaning of this card pertains to momentary triumph using severity and strength---a triumph that may become humiliating.
thoth-5 of swords-defeat
The position of Geburah on the Tree of Life, is the 5th Sephiroth-Severity. One may ask, why is there a need for such a nasty- Intelligent-judgmental- corrective force if we are the Child of The Divine Creative? This Severity is easily explained as cutting away the unworthy bits, so that you are the original you. But what many fail to understand is that since all the definitions given to you by your society, belief systems and cultures are not you, YOU CAME IN ALREADY KNOWING YOU! Your identity has never been created by the words of mankind.
Yes, it is true, dear ones, truth is made manifest. Therefore, you never came seeking your truth, nor to find out who you are, the Soul already Knows that! That is how you became manifest---by putting knowledge into form! You are defined into being, not a being who seeks definition! You are a powerful intimacy of the Divine who proves definition by making it manifest as Self! Hence seeking definition and/or titles in battles of supremacy, or by using words to assassinate the value of others is folly and false identity.
Geburah, the 5th Sephiroth, helps us remember who we really are, and not what we pretend to be.
The 5 of Swords, is known as Defeat, or Lord of Defeat. Being that Venus is in Aquarius here, the normal disruption of Geburah's strength is not the cause of disaster! This is because weakness is the cause of the 5 of Swords disaster! A weakness brought on by pacifism, and enfeebling sentiment. Even treachery.
The hilts of the swords form the sinister image of the inverted pentagram. This is "upside down" thinking, where the body fears have conquered the will by the treachery of sensation. Feeling fearful is often more sensual than feeling willful, since the ever-present doubt brought into belief by indoctrination keeps the will from collecting into force. Notice that none of the hilts are the same, implying many different weak thoughts assaulting the blue Rose of Wisdom, which was at once whole in the 4, is now all cut to pieces in the 5. Wisdom is scattered to the winds of emotional defeat and blood and poison drips from the thoughts/swords.
The 5 of Swords is Geburah in Yetzirah, a severe Mars influence, is now in the Astral World. Now Mars is the consort of Venus in mythology, and mythology is not a story telling a lie, but rather a story relating a truth. The Blue Rose of Venus, which is the Rose of the Cross, can't take the buffeting of the Martian assault. Along with the 9 and 10 of Swords, the 5 is one of the most destructive events in the deck. Here, loss, defeat, failure where contest is decided and finished against the person.
When the 5/ Five of Swords is thrown during a reading:
- The querent is usually caught in the fears of the past.
- One is experiencing a self-defined prison of negative, self-defeating beliefs.
- Here defeat on a mental level, bringing humiliation and weakness.
- The suggestion here is to give up fighting, swallow your pride and acknowledge your limitations, and then proceed in a new direction.
- We are only defeated when we stop seeking another way. So, there is no 5 week or 5-month period here, since it is the querent's own mental negativity that is involved here, and they could change perspective at any time.
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